One of the best and worst things about sports is the relationship fans have with athletes and coaches. Parasocial interaction helps explain that even though athletes and coaches will often have no idea who most of their fans are on a personal level, the fans will act like they are best friends with them.
When everything is going well for a team, many fans feel like they are experiencing the same jubilation of the coaches and athletes and it is one of the most satisfying feelings in sports.
The fans of the University of Kansas and Baker University men’s basketball teams both had their fair share of excitement from the success of the respective teams last season, but both have recently experienced what is known as parasocial breakup.
Some fans can become so emotionally attached to players and coaches, that when they change teams, it feels like they are going through a break up.
On Monday, Kansas forward and National Player of the Year runner-up Thomas Robinson announced he would forgo his senior season to enter the NBA draft. The decision did not come as a surprise as he is projected in many mock drafts to be picked in the top five. Robinson made the announcement at a press conference alongside Kansas head coach Bill Self and his 9-year-old sister Jayla.
Fans across the nation became emotionally attached to Thomas after both of his grandparents and his mother tragically passed away within a 25-day period, leaving Jayla as the only family member Thomas had left.
The decision for Thomas was likely an economical one as well because entering the league will obviously give him a much larger income, which he could use to help support Jayla, too.
It won’t be easy for Kansas fans not seeing Thomas in a Jayhawk uniform next season, but it is easy for them to understand why he is leaving.
Another person who recently changed venues was Baker men’s basketball head coach Brett Ballard.
Ballard brought Baker men’s basketball back on the map in his two years as the head coach. When he took over two years ago, Baker had just come off a season in which it finished tied for last in the Heart of America Athletic Conference. Ballard turned Baker into a force to be reckoned with and led the Wildcats to the NAIA National Tournament last season.
While many BU basketball fans are eager to see if the team can return to the NAIA tournament next year, it will be with a different coach as Ballard accepted an assistant coaching job with the University of Tulsa.
Sure, it is frustrating that Ballard left after two seasons, but one cannot blame him for taking a job with a NCAA Division I program with former colleague Danny Manning as the head coach.
Just like with Robinson, Ballard is going to a higher level and will likely be getting paid more because of it.
Sometimes fans forget that sports are businesses and become so emotionally attached to coaches and athletes that they don’t know how to react when the person they cheer for moves on.
Robinson and Ballard are great at what they do for the game of basketball and are genuine people as well. They might have moved on from your favorite team, but that doesn’t mean you can’t cheer for them any more.